Jan 17, 2013

These twice-baked potatoes are so cheesy, and guilt-free that you'll never have to think twice about making them!

If you want to sneak some vegetables into your family's meal, this is the perfect side dish – great with chicken, steak or pork chops. I often add cauliflower to my mashed potatoes and no one really notices. My baked potato soup is the perfect example.

These cheesy twice baked potatoes were first cooked in the microwave (you can of course bake them), then scooped out and mashed with cooked cauliflower, buttermilk and cheese. Then they went back into the shells and topped with steamed broccoli and more cheese, delicious!

Kid-friendly, vegetarian, gluten-free and simple to make. This took under 30 minutes to make, you can easily prepare them ahead and heat just before serving. I served them with Garlic Lover's Roast Beef and I had one happy family!

For those of you on Weight Watchers, these are 3 points plus per serving. You can easily halve this recipe to make less.

Pierce the potatoes several times with a fork. Place in the microwave and use your baked potato setting until the potatoes are cooked through, turning half way. (Or you can bake 1 hour in your oven at 425° F)

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine cauliflower and broccoli with a little salted water and cook, covered for about 3 minutes. Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon and set aside, continue cooking the cauliflower until soft, about 5 more minutes. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop the flesh out into the large bowl with the cauliflower, leaving a ¼" shell. Place the potato shells on a baking sheet.

Mash the flesh with a potato masher or puree with a hand blender along with the cauliflower. Add the buttermilk and salt, mash until smooth. Fold in half of the shredded cheddar (and chives if desired).

Spoon the potato/cauliflower mixture back into the shells. Top
with the cooked broccoli (I just inserted them in) and remaining cheese
on top. Bake for 5-10 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese
is melted. (you can also microwave it for a few minutes if you prefer
not to use the oven)

One note: Don't "mash" your potatoes with a hand blender (or a food processor). The speed of the blade tears the starch molecules, causing the torn starches to mix with the liquid in the potatoes. The potatoes become gluey and pasty in consistency, rather than creamy. You're better off ricing or actually mashing your potatoes.

Amazing! My husband was just telling me last night that he was craving cheese and broccoli stuffed potatoes, and I was shutting him down as I had NO IDEA how to make them healthfully. I will definitely be surprising him with these later this week.

Who would have guessed that SkinnTtaste could not only positively effect your waistline, but also your marriage? :-)

I have never been a huge fan of potatoes until recently when I was introduced to the perfect baked sweet potato. These look absolutely delicious and I might just have to try out this recipe. xx. McKenna Louwww.lynnandlou.blogspot.com

Different brands can give you different results, but I just double checked this a few different ways and I still get 3 points plus. Email me and I can show you what I did and see why yours is different. Be sure your vegetables are input as raw, they weight changes if cooked.

Well love that this dish is vegetarian since I have been needing more meatless monday ideas but am curious when it comes to the veggies how much water and salt due you recommend adding for when you are cooking them...

Well this is a bit late but use a few drops of lemon juice with the milk, I found this trick from a google search of substitutions when I didn't want to buy a whole thing of buttermilk for a recipe which only needed a few tablespoons.

Gina, thank you for this website (and all the hard work that goes into it)! This has been my first-and often last- stop when making my grocery lists for the past several months. Your recipes have made me a better cook, given me delicious meals, helped me lose weight, and helped my husband eat more veggies! We have enjoyed every recipe we've tried and we always tell everyone about this site. It's really changed the way we eat! Thank you, again! I'm looking forward to your cookbook!!

I made these last night and they are AMAZING!!! I am eating one for lunch right now because I made the entire recipe and I was home alone last night! LOL! Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe! I will totally be making them again!

Another winner! ONe thing I love about your recipes is how versatile they are. Lots of times I don't have all the ingredients so I will substitute and they still turn out delicious. I didn't have buttermilk or cheddar cheese on hand today so I used a wedge of laughing cow light swiss, a tbsp of sour cream and a splash of milk. I had some parmesan so I used that on top and it was outstanding. I am defintely trying it again with the recipe as written. We also had it as our main course with a tossed green salad. Thanks again!

hey Evelyn! I never have buttermilk in my house. When I need some, esp for Irish Soda Bread, I use about a tbsp, or so of white, or apple sider vinegar to a cup of milk. Doesn't matter what type of milk percent wise, as I have done it w 1%, OR2% Just what you have on hand. Let it set while gathering up other ingredients for your recipe. When you check it, it should be something like the consistency of loose yogurt. Hope this helps! Suzan

Made these this weekend and they were amazing - I am eating a leftover half now for lunch! The cauliflower gives such an amazing, buttery flavor! We love roasted broccoli, so I sprayed mine with a little cooking spray before baking and it got wonderfully crispy. Another winner!

These are great.Observation - don't use cheap shredded cheese. I think all the waxes added to it prevents it from melting. I was reheating one today I unexpectedly found in the freezer. I'm not great at pre-planning, so my initial attempt to reheat it in the toaster oven didn't initially work (duh it's frozen). The shell separated from the mash. I ended up combining it all and defrosting it in the microwave. On a whim I mixed in one of those garlic & herb wedge cheeses ( I think laughing cow?) before the final zap in the microwave. It was also tasty.

So doing the math, you need to purchase 4.5 oz potatoes? I am in trouble because I purchased 4 very medium sized russets and when I got home to my scale (while making them) weighed them at 8 oz each! They aren't even big. Guess I will be cutting my halves in half : (

I made these a few days ago - without the broccoli on top, for my husband and son. Everyone raved about it, my son ate so many that we did not have the leftovers that I had planned for dinner the next day!

Is there a print button that lets one print this out without having to do numerous cut-and-pastes, or print out multiple pages? If so, where the heck is it? I like a lot of these recipes but I get tired of dealing with them.

these were delicious - my husband won't eat cauliflower so I didn't tell him that I put it in these - just served them and he thought they were very good - he has come to a point where he doesn't ask and I won't tell him what I am adding or not - but I must say he has enjoyed every meal I have made from your sight